The mouthpiece and the bell

You've been Flickr'd.

It's June. It's that month between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July that will always hold a special place in most everyone's seasonal chronometer. Even though summer doesn't really start until, what, June 23rd or so, every kid who has been to school knows that the beginning of June is the real kickoff of summer, which is why I don't really approve of these weird new schedules that puts kids out of school at the beginning of May or the middle of June, but that's a different post. So anyway, that feeling of "done" that we all have from our school days spills over into what we feel about June as adults. Well, maybe. That's how I think about it anyway. But the same also sort of holds true for the Army.

Memorial Day really kicks off the season of the Army where we have a lot of events, ceremonies, changes of commands (change of commands? changes of command?), and other assorted celebrations. Here in Japan that means we act a little bit more like a standard Army band and have a lot of gigs on post. Specifically for trumpet players, it means a lot of bugle-type jobs including the ever popular/ubiquitous Taps.

Taps is something of a watermark for trumpet players. It's 24 notes, there are no hard rhythms, no valves to worry about, everybody knows exactly what it's supposed to sound like. It's just you, your trumpet, and how you play, no excuses, death or glory. It's also such a noble piece imbued with such huge significance. When asked to play it for a memorial day service, it's no longer a simple piece that you play, it's a tribute to the all fallen heroes of our country, so it's an honor, but also a huge responsibility. You want to play it well and make a fitting tribute, and yet it's so easy to screw it up even just ever so slightly. Yeah, screwing up a piece honoring your fallen brothers? That makes you feel terrific. So, I had to play it for the Memorial Day Run. That's the way the Army celebrates things, by running around. Before you ask, it went fine, but that's what got me really thinking about that whole paragraph up there and the one to follow.

Taps also seems to represent the extremes of trumpet philosophy (for lack of a better term). On the one hand, it is very easy. Anyone that says Taps is difficult is lying. But on the other hand, playing Taps is very hard. Analysis of tone, vibrational frequencies of the lips, tuning of the harmonic series, breath support, clean slurring, control of excitement and nerves...it's all there. I've seen (and personally felt) the effects of over focus on the difficulties of trumpet playing and it's not a pretty thing. As someone wise probably once said and I'll now misquote "Analysis is the first step to paralysis." But on the other hand, if you are so focused on the ease and effortless side of things, whatever you're playing will sound just thrown out and half baked. But is the answer to play somewhere in the middle? Ha! As if I would ever support a theory as easy as that.

Phil Collins (The principal trumpet of the Cincinnati Symphony and one of my teachers at CCM, not the drummer for Genesis) is one of the wisest trumpet gurus I've had the pleasure of learning from. The way he is able to communicate simply, directly, and with surgical precision is nothing short of amazing. And his playing? Good gracious. There's a reason he has held one of the most prestigious trumpet jobs in the world for over 30 years. Alright, enough hero worship. His take on the spectrum is that we shouldn't waste any time with anything less than our absolute best sound.

Warming up? Best possible tone. Perfect attacks every time. Didn't happen? Work on it.

Scales and Articulation studies? Melodic phrases, even tone in all dynamics and all registers. Didn't happen? Work on it.

Etudes? Not about expanding technique. Musicality, tone, and perfect fundamentals come first.

So there's not a lot of leeway with that approach. It really does work too...in the glass bubble of conservatories and high powered orchestras. While I don't disagree, I've found myself doing something a little different in the Army bands. For better or worse, I save my good playing for when I need it. If I have to march around in drill band all morning, play a rehearsal in jazz band, and have a brass quintet gig in the afternoon, that's a lot of abuse. Is it worth trying to be totally musical and waste my energy striving for a full excellent sound in drill band? Pshaw. But does this off the cuff sort of playing "infect" my approach when I sit down and actually try to play musically? I don't think so, but you can't fairly judge while sitting in the witness chair.